Liquid vacuuming and filtering device and method

ABSTRACT

A liquid vacuuming and filtering device may include a container having a sealed interior, a vacuum pump connected to the interior, a two-way valve connected to the interior, a flexible hose connected to the valve, a filter positioned within the interior and connected to the valve and a standpipe positioned within the interior and connected to the valve. The pump may be adjusted to a filling configuration, in which the pump evacuates the container interior to a pressure below ambient, causing fluid to be drawn through the hose, valve, and filter, which collects suspended particulates; or to a discharge configuration, in which the pump pressurizes the interior to a pressure above ambient, wherein the valve is adjusted to allow filtered fluid within the container to flow through the standpipe, valve and out through the hose.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure is directed to vacuuming devices and, more particularly,to vacuuming devices that collect and filter contaminated fluid and thefiltered fluid is subsequently discharged.

Vacuuming devices have been developed in a variety of designs, each toaccomplish a specific task or set of tasks. One common configuration ofa vacuuming device is a portable vacuum in which a canister, which maybe a drum or other enclosed vessel, is used to collect material that isto be vacuumed. A flexible hose that terminates in a rigid wand or othertool is connected to the canister and the wand is placed in or near thematerial to be collected. Such devices typically include a vacuum pumpthat lowers the pressure within the sealed canister to below ambient,and the pressure differential causes material to be sucked through thecollection hose and collected within the interior of the canister. Suchportable devices may be used to vacuum and collect dry particulatematerial, fluids or a combination of fluids and particulate material.

Certain types of vacuuming devices may be adjusted to a vacuumingconfiguration, in which particulate material, a fluid or a combinationthereof, is drawn through the collection hose and is retained within thecanister, or to a discharge configuration, in which operation of thevacuum pump is reversed to pressurize the interior of the canister aboveambient pressure. The pressurized interior forces the collectedmaterial, typically a fluid, out through the collection hose, or in someembodiments out through a second hose, thereby emptying the contents ofthe canister.

A common application for such vacuuming devices with reversible vacuumpumps is the collection and filtering of fluid that contains or iscontaminated with particulate material. With such devices, thecollection hose is first connected to a port that communicates with acollection filter within the canister. In the vacuuming or collectingmode, fluid with particulate material suspended in it is drawn throughthe collection hose and through the filter in the canister, whichcollects the particulate material suspended in the fluid. The filteredfluid is also retained within the canister. In a discharge mode, thecollection hose is disconnected from a collection port, that port isclosed off and the hose is connected to a second port that communicateswith the interior of the canister and bypasses the filter. The vacuumpump is then adjusted to pressurize the interior of the canister. Thefiltered, collected fluid in the canister is then discharged through thehose.

There is a need for a liquid vacuuming and filtering device that issimple to operate and eliminates the need to adjust hoses when switchingfrom a collection mode to a discharge mode.

SUMMARY

This disclosure is directed to a liquid vacuuming and filtering deviceand method. The device may be adjustable to a liquid collecting mode andto a liquid discharge mode without having to disconnect and reconnectthe fluid collection hose. Moreover, the disclosed liquid vacuuming andfiltering device may use the same, single hose both for collectingcontaminated fluid and for discharging filtered fluid. Multiple hoses ordischarge ports may not be needed.

In one aspect, the disclosed liquid vacuuming and filtering device mayinclude a sealed container, a reversible vacuum pump communicating withan interior of the container, a two-way valve mounted on the container,a flexible hose connected to the valve, a filter positioned within thecontainer and connected to the valve and a standpipe connected to thevalve and extending within the container. In one aspect, the vacuum pumpmay be a reversible pneumatic pump. When the reversible pneumatic pumpand the valve are adjusted to a filling configuration, and the flexiblehose is placed at or in a fluid containing particulate material, thepump evacuates air from within the container to create a below-ambientpressure within the container. This partial vacuum may cause fluid to bedrawn through the flexible hose, through the valve and into the filterwithin the container interior. The container interior fills with fluidand the filter may trap and collect the particulate material that wassuspended in the fluid or was taken in through the hose along with thefluid.

The disclosed reversible vacuum pump and valve may be adjusted to adischarge configuration in which the reversible vacuum pump pressurizesthe container interior to a pressure above ambient. In thisconfiguration, the valve may be adjusted to create a fluid flow channelthrough the standpipe in the interior of the container, through thevalve and out the flexible hose. The above-ambient pressure within thecontainer may cause fluid within the container to flow through thischannel and be discharged through the hose.

In this fashion, the disclosed liquid vacuuming and filtering device maybe used to recondition cutting fluid or machine coolant that has becomecontaminated with particulate material such as dirt, metal particles andshavings. Operation of the device may draw such contaminated fluid froma sump through the flexible hose, valve and through the filter so thatthe particulate material may be collected within the filter and thefiltered fluid fills the container. The device then may be adjusted to adischarge configuration and the filtered fluid returned to the sumpthrough the flexible hose.

It is within the scope of the disclosure to utilize such a device in anumber of other applications. For example, the device may be used tofilter and recondition contaminated fluid from any sort of powertransmission gear enclosure, such as an automobile transmission ordifferential, to filter and recondition contaminated fluid fromequipment with oil or coolant reservoirs, to filter and reconditioncooking oil, to clean ponds, to filter fluid taken from flooded vaults,and to collect and filter fluid from other waste containers.

It is also within the scope of this disclosure to utilize the discloseddevice to clean up spills. In such applications, the hose may include atool, such as a floor attachment, attached to its distil end that wouldfacilitate vacuuming spilled fluid from, for example, a shop floor. Thefluid may then be collected within the device and any particulatematerial filtered from the fluid. Disposal of the fluid and theparticulate material thus would be facilitated.

In one aspect, the device may utilize a polyester bag filter that isremovable and replaceable. Such a filter may be used with varying poresizes, from 5 to 50 microns and larger, and down to 1 micron or less forapplications to reclaim precious metals. It is also within the scope ofthe disclosure to utilize mesh filters made of other materials, such asmetal.

Other objects and advantages of the disclosed device will be apparentfrom the following description, the accompanying drawings and theappended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic, perspective view of one embodiment of thedisclosed liquid vacuuming and filtering device, shown connected to asource of compressed air, and in which the interior of the container ispartially broken away to reveal internal components;

FIG. 2 is a detail of the device of FIG. 1, showing the tank lid andbroken away to show the interior of the container;

FIG. 3 is a schematic, side elevation in section of the device of FIG.1, shown adjusted to a filling configuration; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic, side elevation in section of the device of FIG.1, shown adjusted to a discharge configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An embodiment of the disclosed liquid vacuuming and filtering device,generally designated 10, is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The device 10 mayinclude a container 12, such as a standard 55-gallon drum. Othercontainers may be used, such as a 5-gallon or 30-gallon drum or a tank.Plastic containers may be used as well. Any container that is capable ofbeing pressurized positively and negatively without leakage may be used.

The container 12 may include a container body 14 and a removable lid 16.The lid 16 may be secured to the body by a drum latch ring 18 to form asealed, substantially air-tight interior 20.

A reversible vacuum pump 22 may be mounted on the lid 16 and may beattached to form a substantially air-tight seal with the lid. The pump22 may include a shut-off valve 23 (see FIGS. 3 and 4), such as a floatvalve, that automatically shuts the valve off should the liquid level inthe container 12 reach a predetermined maximum level and actuate thevalve. This shut-off valve 23 may prevent overfilling the container 12.

The pump 22 also may include a manually operated shut-off valve 24. Theshut-off valve 24 may be integrated with the pump, or as shown in FIG.1, may comprise a separate valve positioned upstream of the pump 22. Thepump 22 may be a reversible pneumatic pump, such as an EXAIR Model 6091Reversible Drum Vac. If the pump 22 is pneumatically operated, the pumpmay be connected to a source of compressed air, generally designated 26,by a supply line 28, such as a flexible hose or rigid conduit. In such aconfiguration, the supply line 28 may be connected to the shut-off valve24, which in turn is connected to pump 22. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,the source of compressed air 26 may be a pressurized tank, as shown inFIG. 1 or it may be a compressor or other device for creatingpressurized air. The preferred range of delivered compressed air is80-100 psig. Alternatively, the pump 22 may be an electrically poweredpump or blower.

The device 10 may include a flexible hose 29 that may optionallyterminate in a tool 30 mounted or attached to its distal end. Tool 30may be a rigid wand, as shown in FIG. 1, or may be another tool, such asa floor vacuum attachment.

The device 10 also may include a valve, generally designated 32, whichmay be a two-way valve. The valve 32 may be connected to the intake hose29 at port 33, which may be a barbed fitting. Valve 32 also may be athree-way valve, or a valve having more than three settings.

A filter 34 may be positioned within the interior 20 of the container 12and connected to the valve 32 by an elbow 36, which may be a femalequick release elbow adaptor, which is connected to port 37 of the valve.As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the filter 34 may be a porous filter bag,such as a polyester bag. The filter 34 may include a filter bag 38 andan adaptor 40. The adaptor 40 may be connected to a quick-releaseadaptor 42, such as a male quick release adaptor, that forms a part ofthe elbow 36. The adaptor 40 may include a bulkhead fitting that forms asubstantially air-tight seal with lid 16.

The pore size of the filter bag 38 may vary, depending upon theparticular application of the device 10 and the size range of theparticulate material to be filtered from the fluid to be collected bythe device 10. For example, the bag 38 may have pores in the range of 1μup to 125μ in size. Other forms of filter 34 may be employed, such as amesh filter made of metal. Other shapes of filter 34 may be employed aswell.

Also as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the device may include a discharge pipe44, such as a standpipe that may comprise a section of PVC pipe.Alternatively, the discharge pipe 44 may be made of corrosion-resistantmetal, metal coated or treated to be corrosion resistant, or a plasticother than PVC, such as nylon. The standpipe 44 may be connected to thevalve 32 by a quick-release elbow adaptor 46, such as a female quickrelease elbow adaptor, which may be attached to port 47 of the valve.Elbow adaptor 46 may include a quick-release adaptor 48, such as a malequick release adaptor. Adaptor 48 may form a substantially air-tightseal with lid 16. Alternatively, the discharge pipe 44 may pass throughthe body 14 of container 12 or through the bottom of the container andextend to valve 32.

The method of operation of the device 10 is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Toplace the device 10 in a filling configuration, as shown in FIG. 3, theshut-off valve 24 is closed, which shuts off the flow of pressurized airto inactivate the reversible vacuum pump 22. The knob 50 on the pump 22is turned to adjust the pump to a configuration in which air isevacuated from the interior 20 of the container 12. The handle 52 ontwo-way valve 32 is adjusted to connect the hose 29 with the filter bag34 within the interior 20 of the container 12. Thus, a continuous intakechannel is formed that extends through the tool 30, hose 29, ports 33and 37 of valve 32, elbow 36 and quick-release adaptor 42 and filter 34in the interior 20 of container 12. The tool 30, such as a wand shown inFIG. 3, is placed within the contaminated fluid 54 in a vessel 56, suchas the sump shown in FIG. 3.

The shut-off valve 24 is opened and the reversible pump 22 evacuates airfrom the interior 20 of the container 12. This creates a below-ambientpressure condition within the container 12 so that fluid 54 is drawnthrough the wand 30, hose 29, valve 32, elbow 36 and into the filter bag34. The particulate material 58 contained in the fluid 54 is collectedin the filter bag 34. The interior 20 of the container 12 then fillswith filtered fluid 60. It is preferable for an operator to move thewand around in the vessel 56 to make sure that all the contaminants arestirred up and drawn through the hose 29 with the fluid 54 and into thecontainer 12.

Once the vessel 56 is emptied, the shut-off valve 24 may be closed tostop the pump 22 and prevent overfilling or to prevent fluid or air fromcontinuing to be drawn from the interior 20 of the container 12.Alternatively, the device may be allowed to operate until the shut-offvalve 23 is activated by the rising level of fluid 60 in the container12, which shuts off pump 22. The container 12 is now filled with fluid60 from which the particulate contaminants 58 have been removed.

As shown in FIG. 4, to place the device 10 in a dischargingconfiguration, shut off valve 24 preferably is in the closed position.The knob 50 then may turned on the reversible vacuum pump 22 so that thepump is adjusted to pressurize the interior 20 of the container 12. Thehandle 52 of the valve 32 is adjusted to connect the standpipe 44 withinthe container 12 with the hose 29. A continuous fluid discharge channelis thus formed that extends through standpipe 44, elbow 46 and quickrelease 48, ports 47 and 33 of valve 32, and flexible hose 29 and tool30. The wand 30 is placed into the vessel 56 where clean, filtered fluid60 from the interior 20 of the container 12 is desired. The shut-offvalve 24 is opened, allowing pressurized air from source 26 (see FIG. 1)to activate the reversible vacuum pump 22, which begins to pressurizethe interior 20 of the container 12. This above-ambient pressurecondition in the interior 20 forces the filtered fluid 60 within theinterior 20 to flow upwardly through the standpipe 44, through elbow 46,valve 32, and through the hose 29 and wand 30 back into the vessel 56,if desired. The vessel 56 then is refilled with the clean, filteredfluid 60.

The standpipe 44 preferably is oriented substantially vertically withinthe container 12 and sized to open near the bottom of the interior 20 sothat the container may be substantially completely emptied of filteredfluid 60 during fluid discharge operation. When the fluid 60 isdischarged from the container 12, the shut-off valve 24 may be adjustedto shut off the flow of compressed air from the source 26 (FIG. 1) tothe pump 22, which stops the pump and the discharge of fluid 60 from thecontainer 12.

At this time, the latch ring 18 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) may be disengaged,which allows an operator to remove the lid 16 from the body 14 of thecontainer 12. The filter bag 34 may be removed from the adaptor 40 andthe collected particulate material 58 emptied from the bag. In thealternative, the bag 34 may be discarded and replaced with a fresh bag.

In conclusion, the device 10 provides a means of vacuuming, filteringand returning filtered fluid to a source, such as a sump, without thenecessity of disconnecting and reconnecting hoses. The device preferablyis portable and may be mounted on a wheeled dolly (not shown), or may beprovided in a stationary or wall-mounted form.

While the form of apparatus herein described and illustrated mayconstitute a preferred embodiment of the disclosed device, it is to beunderstood that this device is not limited to this precise form ofapparatus, and that changes may be made therein without departing fromthe scope of the invention.

1. A method for filtering a fluid containing contaminants comprising:adjusting a valve to a first position to form a first fluid channel froma hose connected thereto, through said valve, and to a filter in fluidcommunication with a container; actuating a pump to a filling mode tocause said fluid containing contaminants to flow through said firstfluid channel into said container; filtering said fluid containingcontaminants by collecting said contaminants in said filter andcollecting filtered fluid therefrom in said container; adjusting saidvalve to a second position to form a second fluid channel from saidfiltered fluid in said container, through said valve and through saidhose; and actuating said pump to a discharge mode to cause said filteredfluid to flow through said second fluid channel, whereby said filteredfluid is conveyed from said container, through said valve and out ofsaid container through said hose.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein saidstep of adjusting said valve to said first position includes formingsaid first fluid channel to said filter positioned in an interior ofsaid container.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of adjustingsaid valve to said first position includes forming said first fluidchannel to said filter in fluid communication with said container,wherein said container is substantially sealed from the ambient.
 4. Themethod of claim 1 wherein said step of actuating said pump to saidfilling mode includes actuating said pump to evacuate an interior ofsaid container to a pressure below ambient, whereby said fluidcontaining contaminants is drawn through said first fluid channel tosaid interior of said container.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein saidstep of actuating said pump to said discharge mode includes actuatingsaid pump to pressurize an interior of said container to a pressureabove ambient, whereby said filtered fluid is forced through said secondfluid channel from said container through said valve and said hose. 6.The method of claim 1 wherein said step of actuating said pump to saidfilling mode includes actuating a vacuum pump to said filling mode; andactuating said pump to said discharge mode includes actuating saidvacuum pump to said discharge mode.
 7. The method of claim 1 whereinsaid step of filtering said fluid containing contaminants includescollecting particulate contaminants in said filter from said fluidcontaining contaminants.
 8. The method of claim 1 further comprisingstopping said pump prior to adjusting said valve to said first positionand actuating said pump to said filling mode.
 9. The method of claim 3further comprising stopping said pump prior to adjusting said valve tosaid second position and actuating said pump to said discharge mode. 10.The method of claim 1 wherein said step of adjusting said valve to saidsecond position includes forming said second fluid channel through astandpipe located in said container, through said valve and through saidhose.
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein said pump comprises a compressedair pump.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein said compressed air pump isconnected to a source of compressed air.
 13. The method of claim 12wherein said step of actuating said pump to said filling mode andactuating said pump to said discharge mode each includes adjusting ashut off valve to a closed configuration in which compressed air is shutoff from said compressed air pump.
 14. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising placing an end of said hose in a container of said fluidcontaining particulate material.
 15. The method of claim 1 wherein saidstep of filtering said fluid containing contaminants includes filteringsaid fluid containing contaminants through a filter bag having aninternal cavity sealed from said interior and in fluid communicationwith said valve, wherein said particulates are collected in saidinternal cavity.
 16. A method for filtering a fluid containingcontaminants comprising: adjusting a valve to a first position to form afirst fluid channel from a hose connected thereto, through said valve,and to a filter in an interior of a substantially air-tight container;actuating a pump to a filling mode to cause said interior of saidcontainer to be pressurized below ambient pressure to cause fluidcontaining contaminants to flow through said first fluid channel intosaid interior of said container; filtering said fluid containingcontaminants by collecting said contaminants in said filter andcollecting filtered fluid therefrom in said interior of said container;adjusting said valve to a second position to form a second fluid channelfrom said filtered fluid in said interior of said container, throughsaid valve and through said hose; and actuating said pump to a dischargemode to cause said interior of said container to be pressurized aboveambient pressure to cause filtered fluid in said interior of saidcontainer to flow through said second fluid channel, whereby saidfiltered fluid is conveyed from said interior of said container, throughsaid valve and out of said container through said hose.
 17. The methodof claim 16 wherein said steps of actuating said pump to said fillingmode and actuating said pump to said discharge mode each includesactuating a vacuum pump.
 18. The method of claim 16 wherein said step offiltering said fluid containing contaminants includes filtering saidfluid containing contaminants through one of a porous filter bag and amesh filter made of metal.
 19. The method of claim 16 wherein said stepof adjusting said valve to said second position includes shutting offoperation of said pump.
 20. The method of claim 16 wherein said step ofadjusting said valve to said first position includes shutting offoperation of said pump.